NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — With the announcement from Metro Councilman John Cooper on Tuesday that he would enter the Mayor's race, political analysts are predicting it could become an incredibly expensive and competitive election.
Cooper joins Mayor David Briley, Rep. John Ray Clemmons and Carol Swain in their bids to be the city's next mayor. He currently serves as a Metro Councilman at-large and for months had said he wasn't going to enter the race.
But in an interview with NewsChannel 5 on Wednesday, Cooper said, "I changed my mind because I wanted to give the current administration as long as I could to make sure that we are on the right path and I felt like Nashville couldn't wait four years to get on the right path."
Councilman Cooper is largely viewed as a more conservative leaning Democrat who is calling on the city to practice more fiscal responsibility at a time of unprecedented growth.
"There has to be a period of real financial stewardship, we have run out of money," he added.
NewsChannel 5 political analyst Pat Nolan believes that the addition of Cooper to the race will also increase the likelihood that the election will end up in a runoff situation.
"The chances of a runoff go up when you have four major candidates in a race where somebody needs to win 50 percent plus one of the vote," Nolan said.
